Protect religious freedom. Maintain an independent judiciary. Respect your neighbor. Get to know your neighbors. These are the ways the nation can help reduce the threat of terrorism and preserve civil liberties, research suggests.

Amid widespread international disregard for religious freedom, one group of countries stands out: Muslim-majority nations. “Religious persecution is not only more prevalent among Muslim-majority countries, but it also generally occurs at more severe levels,” Brian Grim of the Pew Research Center and Roger Finke of Pennsylvania State University report in a new book, “The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century.”

Haiti’s efforts to promote religious freedom, along with a recent period of relative political stability, mean a wide range of religious groups have ties on the ground and are energizing faithful throughout the world to provide long-term assistance in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Religious discrimination can lead to persecution and political isolation, and in some cases foment terrorism among the marginalized. The flip side is that religious freedom offers nations such as Haiti the opportunity to benefit from faith’s sweeter fruits of a humanitarian calling to ease suffering.

True or false?
1. Islam and Christianity share a similar history of connections between religion and violence.
2. Muslims in countries where they are the majority want more political participation, freedoms and rule of law.
3. Forbidding female students from wearing head coverings in public schools lowers the possibility of religious violence.
If you answered true, true and false, congratulations. You agree with some of the top scholars in religion offering their perspectives in a timely effort by the Association of Religion Data Archives to widen access to the best of international religion scholarship.

These are heady days for secularists. Increases in the number of Americans claiming no religious affiliation along with the success of books promoting a militant anti-religious agenda such as Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” give some hope of a secular great awakening. But getting rid of religion will not be as easy as it seems. It has been tried before.